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On Monday, June 1, 1741, a protest authored by Robert Cross and signed by him, along with eleven other ministers and eight ruling elders, was submitted to the Synod of Philadelphia, with Jedediah Andrews serving as Moderator, which led to the great Old Side-New Side split of the colonial American Presbyterian Church. The signers were mostly from the Presbytery of Donegal, representing the Old Side party. D.G. Hart writes* that “This division in American Presbyterianism has been the most difficult one to explain in the history of the church…” The protesters, for one thing, referred to their opponents (the New Side) as “protesting brethren,” which certainly clouds the issue for those removed from the controversy by centuries.

It is not the purpose of this post to attempt to explain the circumstances and motivations of either party, which would require an essay of great length, and the tragic story is told elsewhere in church histories by Charles Hodge, Richard Webster, and others. but simply to alert students of church history to the fact that all twelve ministers who signed the Protestation are now found on Log College Press. As William Tennent’s Log College did play an important role in the events leading up to the 1741 split, it is a matter of great interest to us at Log College Press to read what the Old Side had to say, as well as the New Side.

The twelve ministers who signed included 3 Roberts, 3 Johns and 2 Samuels, and most were born in Ireland:

Robert Cross (1689-1766) - The Protestation’s author served the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia alongside Jedediah Andrews.
John Thomson (1690-1753) - Thomson was the author of the 1729 Adopting Act.
Francis Alison (1705-1779) - Alison was a scholar and educator, as well as a leading voice among Old Side presbyters. He preached the opening sermon at the 1758 reunion Synod on “Peace and Union.”
Robert Cathcart (d. 1754) - Cathcart ministered in Wilmington, Delaware from 1730 until his death.
Richard Sankey (1710-1789) - In church records, his last name is often spelled Zanchy. He was the son-in-law of John Thomson, and — after a rocky start in which he was accused of plagiarizing his ordination sermon — later served Virginia Presbyterians under the jurisdiction of the Hanover Presbytery.
John Elder (1706-1792) - The “Fighting Pastor” is known to history as the founder of “Paxton Boys,” who were involved in the Conestoga Massacre in the aftermath of the French and Indian War, and then marched on Philadelphia. In the American War of Independence, he recruited patriots to the American cause.
John Craig (1709-1774) - Craig, about whom we have written before, later served the Hanover Presbytery in Augusta County, Virginia as the first settled Presbyterian minister west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Samuel Caven (1701-1750) - Caven’s tombstone at the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania indicates that he was 44 years old when he died on November 9, 1750; however, other sources indicate that he was born (in Ireland) in 1701.
Samuel Thomson (1714-1787) - Although some have thought that Samuel was the son of John Thomson, the latter’s biographer, John Goodwin Herndon, makes the case that this was not so. Samuel Thomson served as pastor of the Great Conewago Presbyterian Church in Hunterstown, Pennsylvania from 1749 to 1787.
Adam Boyd (1692-1768) - Over a 44-year pastoral career, Boyd — a man “eminent” for piety — help to organize 16 “daughter” and “grand-daughter” churches.
James Martin (d. 1743) - Martin left his mark as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Lewes, Delaware, where the house that he once owned remains an historical landmark.
Robert Jamison (d. 1744) - Jamison, after arriving from Ireland in 1634, ministered in Delaware until his death.

These names are worth getting to know. The ministers who signed the Protestation played an important role in a tragic chapter of American Presbyterian history, and some of them were part of the reunited Synod 17 years later. Ezra Hall Gillett writes of some of these men in The Men and Times of the Reunion of 1758 (1868). That was a happier year than 1741. The rupture that happened after the Protestation had been building for years, and both sides were to blame, as Gillett says. In reviewing the protesters, on both sides, we are reminded that all men fall short of the divine standard of holiness, love and long-suffering that ought to be characteristic of believers. The history of the Presbyterian church affords many examples of division; happily, in this case, a great reunion followed.

* S. Donald Fortson III, ed., Colonial Presbyterianism: Old Faith in a New Land, p. 158

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The original American Presbytery was established around March 1706* in Philadelphia under the leadership of Francis Makemie, who is often referred to as the “Father of American Presbyterianism.” It included a total of seven members, although one was not actually present at the time (his absence was excused later). One man was further ordained at the first Presbytery meeting. We now have the first eight members of the first American Presbytery on Log College Press.

Francis Makemie (1658-1708) - Known as “the Father of American Presbyterianism,” the Irish-born Makemie was the organizer and first moderator of the first Presbytery in America. He did much to promote and defend the Presbyterian Church on from Virginia to New York. He is buried on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
John Hampton (1675-1721) - Hampton came to the Eastern Shore in 1705 with Francis Makemie and George McNish. In 1707, he spent two months in prison with Makemie under charges of nonconformity.
George McNish (1660-1722) - Born in Scotland, McNish is referred to by William B. Sprague as the “father of Presbyterianism” in New York. He arrived in America with Francis Makemie and John Hampton in 1705.
Samuel Davis, Sr. (1663-1725) - Born in Ireland, Davis was the first pastor of the Presbyterian church in Lewes, Delaware, and ministered in Snow Hill, Maryland, as well. He was not actually present at the first meeting of Presbytery, and his attendance at Presbytery meetings was a recurring issue. It is thought that he signed (along with William Shankland) an address of loyalty to King William and Queen Mary by the inhabitants of Somerset County, Maryland in 1689.
Nathaniel Taylor (?-1710) - He was the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Snow Hill, Maryland.
John Wilson (1674-1712) - He was the first pastor of the New Castle Presbyterian Church in New Castle, Delaware. He also ministered to the White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church near Newark, Delaware.
Jedediah Andrews (1674-1747) - Born in Massachusetts, he was the first Presbyterian minister to preach in Philadelphia, serving the First Presbyterian Church, or “Old Buttonwood.” He served the Presbytery as clerk, and engaged in many missionary tours.
John Boyd (1679-1708) - He was the first Presbyterian minister ordained in America on December 29, 1706. Sadly, his ministry was cut short by death less than two years later.

It is interesting to note that Makemie and Boyd both died in 1708, Taylor in 1710 and Wilson in 1712. But the seeds had been sown for the establishment of Presbyterial work in America. By 1716, there were 17 Presbyterian ministers, and that same year a General Synod was created as the first Presbytery (of Philadelphia) was split into four (Long Island, New Castle, Philadelphia and Snow Hill). To see the growing list of ministers added to the Presbytery of Philadelphia after John Boyd, see Willard M. Rice’s Roll of Ministers and Licentiates (1888).

These names represent the beginnings of organized Presbyterianism in America. They are names worthy of remembrance. Although our information about their lives is limited, and so are their published writings (we have a few now here at Log College Press), their contribution to American Presbyterianism must not be forgotten.

* For a more precise understanding of the dating of this event, see Benjamin L. Agnew, When Was the First Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America Organized?

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